Be a Dream4College Short-term Mentor
Inspiring first generation to college 5th & 6th graders
It’s time for RPM’s Dream4College (D4C) Project! Because of the generous support of so many of you who sponsored kids in our Dream4College Campaign, 200 students are participating in this year’s project. Local under-resourced students will have a “College for a day” experience at Stanford, receive a college T-shirt (from a sponsor’s alma mater), complete a research project about a specific College & Career interest, and their parents will participate in two Parent Equipping Programs. We are totally elated about all the aspects involved this year… including this new element: Involving community members like you with college/career experience as D4C mentors during your lunch hour. Please consider this exciting opportunity below!
D4C Mentors will commit 2 lunch breaks between May 18 & 31 to meet with 1-2 students and help them discover possibilities for their future. This will truly make a difference in the lives of these “first-in-family-to-college” youth, and can transform their future. Thank you in advance for considering this impactful role. We anticipate a waiting list for students, so please share this opportunity with your friends or colleagues. With questions, contact Kim Copher at cabo_kim@yahoo.com or Christy Tonge at Christy@rpmovement.org.
1) Meeting #1 – Wed (5/18), Fri (5/20) or Tues (5/24), 12:15 – 1:15pm – Career Interests: Mentors will help students discover career interests through visual flash cards and conversation
2) Meeting #2 – Wed (5/25), Fri (5/27) or Tues (5/31), 12:15 – 1:15pm – College/Career Research: Mentors will help students explore* a career interest & the steps (college or other training) required [*Don’t worry, you don’t have to have all the answers—you will have an outline to follow!!]
Commitment of a Dream4College Mentor:
1) Be available for 2 Lunch Meeting Dates at Castro School in Mountain View
2) Complete a simple Registration form
3) Review the “Prep Packet” that we’ll send you prior to your 1st Meeting
How to Sign Up:
1) Click this link to complete a short Registration form & select your Mentor Meeting dates:
http://tiny.cc/dream4college
Why does Dream4College Project Exist? Latinos often face significant economic as well as cultural pressures to enter the work force and help support their family during their high school and college years. The Public Policy Institute of California states that “the programs that show promise in keeping children in schools include career technical education and early college commitment programs in which middle school students learn about college entrance requirements and funding opportunities, and commit to a rigorous set of courses in high school.”
In June of 2009, The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) revealed in their report, Educating California: Choices for the Future[1], that Californians are experiencing two significant shifts that will change our state’s social and economic landscape. The first shift is our state’s retiring baby boomers that will be leaving the California workforce in mass between 2010 and 2030. 35% of our state’s 55 to 59 year olds are college graduates. In contrast, only 26% of California’s 25-29 year olds have college degrees and this percentage may drop in light of our state’s second major shift— 49% of California’s public school students are Latino and yet 12 percent of Latinos age 25 and older had received a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2005.[2]
The convergence of these two demographic shifts could further reduce state revenues that fuel education for tomorrow’s worker. PPIC projects that “by 2025, 41 percent of jobs will require at least a bachelor’s degree— but only 35 percent of California adults will have college diplomas. To put it another way, if current trends persist, the state will face a shortfall of one million college graduates. Though California Latinos have made strong gains in education from generation to generation, those gains show up mainly in high school graduation rates. U.S.-born Latinos attend college and graduate at far lower rates than other U.S.-born residents.[3]”
Can California afford the economic and social costs of not preparing our children for the world ahead? Only 60% of ninth grade Latinos will graduate from high school[4] and even more sobering is that only 14% will qualify for entrance into California State Universities (CSU) and 4% will be eligible to apply a University of California School (UC). While 81% of Latinos who apply for UC schools are accepted, only 38% will enroll and attend a UC University[5]. 49% of Latino four-year college students will not graduate[6].
These statistics are in stark contrast to California’s Asian and non-Latino White communities. Latinos often face significant economic as well as cultural pressures to enter the work force and help support their family during their high school and college years. PPIC concludes that the programs that show promise in keeping children in schools include career technical education and early college commitment programs in which middle school students learn about college entrance requirements and funding opportunities, and commit to a rigorous set of courses in high school.[7]
Reach Potential Movement believes that families need to have a vision for college before their children enter middle school so that they are thoroughly prepared for college prep classes when they enter high school. Our Dream for College Project teaches students the math of attending classes, turning in their homework and excelling in school will either multiply or divide their life opportunities and employment outlook. Employees with college degrees experienced 7% unemployment in 2009 compared to an unemployment rate closer to 14% for California workers with just high school diplomas. The 25% of Californians who did not graduate from high school experienced unemployment rates closer to 22% with an average annual salary of $18,734 compared to $27,915 for high school grads and $53,039 for college grads. The wage gap between college graduates and those with high school diplomas increased from 40% in 1980 to 90% in 2008.[8]
[1] Educating California: Choices for the Future, Hans Johnson, The Public Policy Institute of California, 2009 http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=891
[2] Latinos and College Access: Ensuring Young Latinos Can Achieve the American Dream, Senator Robert Menendez. Latino Leadership Link.
[3] Educating California: Choices for the Future, Hans Johnson, The Public Policy Institute of California, 2009 http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=891
[4] California Dropout Research Project, UC Santa Barbara, 2009
[5] University of California Application, Admissions and Enrollment of California Resident Freshmen for Fall 1989 through 2008
[6] Rising to the Challenge: Hispanic College Graduation Rates as a National Priority Andrew P. Kelly, Mark Schneider, Kevin Carey, American Enterprise Institute, 2010
[7] Educating California: Choices for the Future, Hans Johnson, The Public Policy Institute of California, 2009 http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=891
[8] Ibid
